Self-preservation ability and residential fire emergencies

Perske's concept of risk from the perspective of fire safety was examined for approximately 46,000 developmentally disabled persons. The National Bureau of Standards measurement of self-preservation ability was used to define individual risk, resulting in the Evacuation Assistance Score. Environmental risk was measured by grouping residences according to fire safety standards described in the National Fire Protection Association's Life Safety Code. Results indicated that: (a) the Evacuation Assistance Score is best thought of as a single variable that measures any risk that might impede a resident's safe evacuation in a fire emergency, (b) the majority of the developmentally disabled individuals receiving services in New York were totally capable of self-preservation, (c) resident demographic characteristics were not strong predictors of Evacuation Assistance Scores, and (d) the match between individual and physical environment risk vulnerability was not strong.